Motoring expenses continue to account for a large chunk of our income, with the price of petrol and diesel, for example, rising over the last 10 years by more than 20p a year and a new car by 38%.
Added to that is the cost of getting an older vehicle through its MoT test. In fact, two out of five cars fail the test at the first attempt. Although it costs, at the most, £54.85 the bill can grow more quickly than Pinocchio’s nose when the mechanic begins to recognise faults within a vehicle.
Here are the five most common reasons for failing (according to What Car? Magazine)
- Not having screen wash topped up
- The driver’s view is impeded by something on the windscreen
- A light is out
- The plates don’t fit within the DVLA guidelines e.g. wrong font or wrong spacing
- The car is dirty on the inside or outside
Each of these issues can be avoided or easily fixed if you know what you’re looking for. An MOT can end up being an unnecessary expense but following these simple steps, collated by Skoda dealer, Vindis, you can make sure you don’t succumb to hefty charges on the day.
Make a checklist before start
Never underestimate the organisational power of a checklist.
Cleaning
Although it’s rare to fail your MOT purely over the issue of a dirty car, don’t take the risk!
Make sure you’ve removed any unnecessary clutter in your car. Following this, give it a vacuum clean, before power washing it on the outside and on the underneath of the vehicle. What will take you an hour in cleaning will save you a re-test and a major inconvenience.
Lights
Take time to thoroughly check all the lights. This includes, hazards, headlights (dipped and full beam), indicators, and brake lights. For the latter we advise getting someone to help you.
Make sure to replace any blown bulbs at your local dealership.
Tyre
Make sure that the tread is more than 1.6mm. You can do this with a tyre tread depth indicator or a 20p coin. Likewise, check the tyres for any bulges, cuts, or splits, alongside checking the pressure and alignment with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Levels
Top up your oil so that it sits between the minimum and the maximum marker. Following this, top up the washer fluid bottle, fuel tank, and anti-freeze.
View
The windscreen must be free of any damages larger than 10mm that impede the driver’s line of sight. Any 40mm damages on any part of the windscreen will also result in a fail. Remember to remove any air fresheners or parking permits which could obstruct vision.
Warning lights
A rule on lit-up warning lights was introduced in 2012. If there are any dashboard lights appearing find out what they mean and get them resolved.
This article appears under the terms of the DB Direct service
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